Benchmark VS Mark levinson 36 DAC ?????????

06-09-11: Kijanki
I was and still am, for a change, impressed with stock Benchmark.

Go for it if you are impress with it. How it sounds in your system and to you is the most important.

I never found stock to sound bright or forward. It was a little muffled, lacking detail and resolution.

I sold mine a while ago but definitely worth a try for the $$.

Knghifi - that shows how differently we all perceive. It sounded to you muffled and lacking detail and resolution while most of opinions I've read stated "too bright" and "hyper detailed".

Kijanki, this is the reason if you like it, go for it :-)

I heard the Benchmark in very sophisticated systems where it was the least expensive component including cables. I cannot stand brightness so it's possible the problem is NOT the Benchmark??

In his May 2004 follow-up to John Mark's July 2003 column on the Benchmark DAC1, John Atkinson stated "I find it surprisingly difficult to hear differences" to the Levinson 30.6 dac.

For what it's worth, I don't find the DAC1 bright or harsh. I've stated before that if you pop the top and set the jumpers to maximun output, pay attention to powercords and interconnects, use good power filtration if necessary, then you should get superb sound. XLR output is a bit better than the coaxial. Of course, your mileage may vary. But, to state that the Benchmark is hard, harsh, and/or bright is crazy. The unit is a runaway best seller, perhaps the biggest selling dac ever.

Theduke - Initially DAC1 sounded a little thin until Signetics factory that made NE5532 burned down (2000/2001). Texas Instruments bought license, redesigned die and Benchmark got fuller sound. Another possible problem was very high output impedance on RCA outputs in very early Benchmarks.